Farm board game apparatus

ABSTRACT

A game apparatus comprising a board having thereon indicia representing farms, a market, and roads therebetween, said roads crossing to provide collision points and being provided with obstacles, a plurality of movable pieces representing farm animals and products, and a plurality of movable miniature truck pieces each having capacity for receiving and transporting a plurality of said first mentioned movable pieces, said truck pieces being movable over said roads between said farms and said market.

United States Patent Carroll n51 3,656,757 1 Apr. 18, 1972 [54] FARMBOARD GAME APPARATUS [72] Inventor: James F. Carroll, 501 EstelleStreet,

Blackwood, NJ. 08012 [22] Filed: Mar. 30, 1970 [211 Appl. No.: 23,541

[52] US. Cl. ..273/l34 D [51] Int. Cl. ..A63l' 3/02 [58] Field of Search..273/1 34 [56} References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS D26,l66 10/1896Myers ..273/134 GB X 1,221,244 4/l9l7 Swartwood ..273/l34 E 1,338,4934/1920 Cress ..273/l34 AD mow HHILLSVd MOD FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 523,310 7/1940 Great Britain ..273/l34 GP PrimaryExaminer-Delbert B. Lowe Attomey-Edward M. Farrell 8 Claims, 12 DrawingFigures PATENTEBAPR 18 I972 SHEET 10F 2 SUMMER O Q m m as 72 J WEIGHTSTATION 3-02 Imro 0 o 4 e n y suaxomo 3:3 :31 44 mxizmwm 284M &

FARMER MARKET whaom wmummxu wkaom mmucuxw JUNCTION Y INVENTOR. JAMES F.CARROLL 'PATENTEDAPRIWZ I 3.656.757

SHEET 20F 2 a I a TRUCK '9- Y g E 9.4

cow 3; Fig.5 Fig.5a

Fig.6 Fig.6a

CHIENS Fig.7 H 7 GOLDEN CHICKENS ATTORNEY FARM BOARD GAME APPARATUSGames involving playing boards are well known. Such boards have manydifferent types of designs and have utilized movable pieces to be movedby players as they proceed from starting points to an ultimatedestination. The movements of the pieces have often been determined bychance, such as by rolling a die to indicate the number of spaces to bemoved.

Such games have provided many hours of entertainment and amusement forplayers. In addition, some games have coupled the feature ofentertainment with educational features. It is especially desirable tohave games which provide educational values as well as entertainmentvalues for children. For example, children in large cities often readabout farms and farm products without real appreciation of the economicsand activities of a typical farmer.

'An important feature found in many board games involves obstacles asthe players move pieces from a starting point to a destination. Theseobstacles are designed to greatly change the nature of the game so thatwinning players are never sure of winning and losing players generallyhave hopes of winning.

In addition to providing entertainment and education, very often it isdesirable that a game should have a certain amount of versatility sothat it may be played by two or four persons while still having the samechallenge and interest for all the players playing the game. Forexample, if a game is played by two or four players individually, allthe obstacles should be the same for all players. Likewise, if twopartners compete with two other partners, the obstacles should be thesame for all players. ln the case of partners, however, it is desirablethat the actions of one partner do not interfere with the actions of theother partner.

In playing a board game involving pieces to be moved from a starting toa finishing point, it is desirable to make maximum use of the space onthe board without overcrowding. At the same time it is generallydesirable to have the various paths of movement relatively long so thatthe time between starting and finishing is not too short.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel farm board game foramusement and education of players of various ages.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel farm boardgame wherein many of the incidents normally associated with farmactivities are simulated.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a novel farmboard game wherein competition among a number of players is providedwith the degree of competition increasing as the game progresses becauseof increasing importance of collision points or intersecting paths.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a novel gamewherein each player operates his own farm operations independently ofother players while still providing competition among the players toeventually determine the most successful farmer.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a novel farmboard game wherein indicia on the board representing the operations ofthe farm are sufficiently spaced to avoid confusion or overlapping amongthe operations of a number of players.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a novel farmboard game in which indicia representing a number of incidents notdirectly related to farming are included to add fun and excitement tothe game.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a novel farmboard game wherein two or four players may compete with each other orwhere two partners may play against two other partners without the movesof one of the partners interfering with the other partner atintersecting or collision points.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide an improvedboard game wherein all the pieces involved in the game are on the board.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide an improvedboard game in which maximum paths of movement of pieces are providedwithout unduly crowding the board.

In accordance with the present invention, a competitive farm gameincludes a board having a centrally disposed market place areasurrounded by farm areas. The market place and farms are subdivided intosmaller areas to hold difi'erent pieces representing different farmanimals and products. Paths lead from the farms to the market, with thepaths being divided into smaller blocks whereby players move a piecerepresenting a truck in accordance with the number resulting from a rollof a die. Various obstacles and collision points are included along thedifferent paths to and from the farms and market. One of the mainobstacles includes intersecting or collision points which greatly affectthe outcome of the game. Items, such as chickens, cows, and the like,are obtained at the market and retumed'to the farm. Resulting products,such as eggs from the chickens, etc., are carried in the trucks from thefarm to the market. Points are accumulated by the players as a result ofthe sale of the food products at the market, with the first playerreaching a predetermined number of points being declared the winner.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentand suggest themselves to those skilled in the art from a reading of thefollowing specification and claims, in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a farm board game in accordance with thepresent invention; and

FIGS. 2 through 8 and FIGS. 5a through illustrate various movable pieceswhich may be used with the board game illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing, a game board 10 includes a centrallydisposed area 12 representing a market place. A plurality of areas 14,16, 18 and 20 are disposed in spaced relationship around the marketplace area and represent various farms.

The market place area 12 is subdivided into smaller areas to representspaces allotted for various farm products, animals and activitiesassociated with a typical farmer visiting the market. For example, apair of market junctions 22 and 24 provide areas to receive trucks ofvarious farmers driving into the market. The market junction 22 joinsparking areas 26 and 28, with the market junction 24 joining the parkingareas 30 and 32.

An area for farm animals and products normally purchased by a farmerincludes an area 34 for cows, an area 36 for pigs, an area 38 for corngrain barrels, an area 40 for wheat grain barrels, an area 42 forchickens and an area 44 for golden chickens.

A second area of the market includes smaller areas to provide for itemsnormally sold by a typical farmer in a market. These areas include anarea 45 to store milk, a general store 46, a farmers market 48, an area50 to store bacon, and an area 52 to store eggs.

Each of the farms l4, l6, l8, and 20 is subdivided in the identical wayto include an area 54 which comprises a pig pen for holding pigs, anarea 56 comprising a cow pasture for cows, an area 58 for a chicken coopto hold chickens, an area 60 for providing plow fields for wheat andcorn, and an area 62 for storing food products until the farmertransports them to the market for sale.

In playing the game, two or four people may play. Altemately, twopartners may play against two other partners with the cumulative scoreof two partners being counted against the cumulative score of the othertwo partners.

In playing the game, a plurality of movable pieces as illustrated inFIGS. 3 to 8 is used. These Figures represent the various animals,chickens, and products which a farmer would normally buy at the market.Other movable pieces as illustrated in FIGS. 5a to 8a show the variousproducts produced by the animals and chickens which are normally sold bythe farmer at the market place.

The object of the game is to become the most successful farmer bybecoming the first player to reach a predetermined number of points, forexample 160. This is accomplished by a player representing a farmertraveling from the farm to the market to acquire animals, chickens,wheat, or corn grain barrels and then returning them to the farm.Products produced by the animals or chickens are then returned to themarket and sold. The wheat and corn are planted on the farm, at whichtime the player is awarded a number of points, dependent upon the amountof farm acreage obtained at the market, which may be marked under thebottom of the barrels. Weighted points are given to the variousactivities and the first player to achieve a predetermined number ofpoints is declared the winner.

In describing the present invention, a particular embodiment which hasbeen built and used will be described, it being understood thatmodifications of the game may be made without departing from the scopeof the present invention.

In addition to the playing board 10, movable pieces representing farmitems are employed. These include seven movable pieces representingcows, illustrated in FIG. 5, seven pigs illustrated in FIG. 6, sevenchickens represented in FIG. 7 and five golden chickens represented inFIG. 8. Also, four wheat grain barrels as illustrated in FIG. 3 and fourcorn grain barrels illustrated in FIG. 4. Other movable pieces representthe products to be sold by the farmer in the market place. These piecesinclude food blocks such as the block representing milk illustrated inFIG. 5a, the block representing bacon illustrated in FIG. 6a, the blockrepresenting eggs illustrated in FIG. 7a, and the block representinggolden eggs illustrated in FIG. 8a.

To start the game, the pieces representing the animals, chickens, andwheat and corn grain barrels are placed in their allotted areas in themarket place. Each of the allotted places is numbered 1 to 6 tocorrespond to numbers on a die, which the players roll during the courseof the game. Of course, a spin device or other means may be employed toproduce the number.

Each player is given a farm and a truck, such as the truck illustratedin FIG. 2. He is also given blocks of food, four each for example, toplace on his farm in the allotted areas. One player may be designated asa point counter or this may be done by a non-player. The point counterwill keep score of all the players and indicate the winner when apredetermined number of points is reached. Altemately, fake money may begiven to the players, which could substitute for the scoring of pointswhen the products are delivered to the market.

A plurality of paths 64, 66, 68, and 70 lead from the farms l4, 16, 18,and 20, respectively, to the market 12. Each of the paths is subdividedinto smaller areas or blocks. As will be described, a player will movehis individual truck along his path a number of blocks dependent uponthe number indicated by the roll of the die.

Each player takes a turn in rolling the die with his respective trucklocated on his farm at the start of the game. He moves from the farmalong the path with the immediate object being to reach the market 12.On the way, a player may encounter a number of obstacles, as will bedescribed hereinafter.

After reaching the market junctionQa player continues to move his truckto his parking area, with path 66 leading to area 32, path 64 leading toparking area 30, path 68 leading to parking area 28 and path 70 leadingto parking area 26. The market junction is considered a cross over andcollision space, as far as movement of the truck is concerned. Anynumber indicated by the roll of the die in excess of that needed to moveinto a parking area is disregarded.

Upon reaching the market place and properly parked, the player may nowpick one of the items from one of the areas numbered 1 to 5. If hewishes to have the golden chicken in position number 6, he must roll thedie and throw the number 6. To enhance the interest in the game, thegolden chicken is given a higher point value than the other animals orproducts and may be obtained only by rolling the die. If the playerchooses not to roll the die, he has a choice and may select any one ofthe items in spaces 1 to 5. If he rolls the die, he takes a chance andmust take the item in the number rolled. This chance or choice featureenhances interest in the game.

Upon acquiring one of the items in spaces 1 to 6, the player loads it onhis truck and starts back to the farm. He follows his same path back tothe farm, with the possibility of encounter type of item he brought fromthe market to the farm. For ex-' ample, if he brought back a chicken, hewill bring eggs to the market. If he brought back a cow, he would bringback milk. Bacon would be taken to the market if he has a pig. A goldenchicken would mean that he would bring golden eggs to the market.

All of the products brought to the market have predetermined pointvalues in the market place if the player manages to reach the marketwithout incident. The wheat and corn grain would be planted in the plowfield indicated by the area 60 and not returned to the market. A playerwould be given a certain number of points at the time of planting.

To enhance the interest in the game, various obstacles are encounteredalong the various paths as a player proceeds to and from the market.Also, if a player stops on certain spaces as a result of the roll of thedie, he may gain or lose points. The result of landing his truck oncertain blocks along the paths may cause a player to lose his product oranimal if his load is too heavy.

A first obstacle encountered by a player as he proceeds from the farm tothe market are weighing stations 72. If a player lands on any of theweighing stations as a result of the roll of the die, the contents ofhis truck must be examined.

The various pigs and cows are designed to have different weights. Forexample, three of the pigs may be marked as being under 750 pounds andfour marked as being over 750 pounds. Three of the cows may be marked asbeing under 750 pounds with four of them designated as being over 750pounds. Pigs over 750 pounds and cows over 750 pounds will not be ableto pass the weight station. A player landing in the weight station andhaving animals over these weights will lose these animals which arereplaced in the market area at a loss to the player. The weight of twoor more animals on a truck.

must be added together when landing on a weighing station to determinethe total weight.

If any player lands in any of the weighing stations 72 and has three ormore food blocks on his truck, his truck will also be consideredoverweight. If this happens, the player must place all the food blocksat the market without the player receiving any point value.

Also along the various paths between the market and the farms are anumber of blocks 74, titled Express Route. Any player landing on theExpress Route is entitled to move his truck to the market or to his farmimmediately depending on which way his truck is traveling, provided hedoes not collide with another players truck on the way.

A major obstacle disposed along the paths are intersection areas 76,where one path crosses over another path. These points may be consideredas collision points and provide one of the main features of the presentinvention. If a player's truck lands on or passes through anintersection area or space and that space is already occupied by anotherplayers truck, there will be a collision. The colliding player must stophis truck at the point of collision and transfer everything from histruck to the other players truck as a penalty for all damages. As thegame progresses, the trucks generally have greater loads and pointvalues which enhances the interest in the game. Ifnothing is beingcarried by the colliding player, there will be no penalty. Eventually,point values will go to the damaged player for the items received whenhis truck arrives at the market and places his products in the milk,bacon or egg area.

Another group of blocks 78 is added to increase the interest in thegame. These blocks are titled Check Weather in Farl0l032 mu mersAlmanac." If a player lands in this space as a result of the roll of thedie, he spins a spinner dial B0. The resulting spin may cause the playerto lose or gain or points, depending upon whether he spins spring,summer, fall, or winter. For example, stopping the spin in spring orsummer could mean gaining 10 or 15 points, respectively. Stopping thespin in fall or winter could mean losing l0 or 15 points, respectively.

Thus it is seen that in addition to the basic game involving playerstravelling back and forth between farms and the market, a number ofother items representing real life incidents are disposed along thepaths, adding interest and amusement to the game.

After a player returns from the market a number of times, he willnormally have a number of animals on the farm. This makes the collisionpoints or intersecting paths increasingly more important because he isnow able to return to the market with a greater number of food blocks,representing more points. Thus, as the game progresses, the number ofpoints obtainable by the players on a single successful trip becomesgreater and greater. As a result, the interest in the game mounts as itprogresses. Also, because of the increasing importance of the collisionpoints, a person far ahead in the game is always in danger of losing alarge number of points to a trailing player as a result of collisions onthe paths, again adding to the fun and excitement of the game.

In one embodiment of the present invention, various point values weregiven to the different food items as follows: A milk block was worth 10points, a bacon block was worth 8 points, a regular egg block was worth6 points, and the golden egg block was worth 15 points.

When a player selects wheat or corn grain barrels, he is considered asacquiring land acreage, with the amount of acreage marked on the bottomof his barrel hidden from the player. For example, if a barrel is marked24 acres, a player, upon arriving back at his farm, would be entitled to24 points. The first player reaching 160 points may be declared thewinner. If partner games are involved, a total of 275 points would benecessary to have a winner.

It is noted that the plurality of paths starting from the farms actuallypass partly around the centrally disposed market before terminating atthe market. These paths are curved to pass one of the two shorter sidesof the market and then return to the market at the relatively longer topor bottom portion. This arrangement makes it possible to provide pathsof maximum lengths to assure games of reasonable duration, in the orderof 1 hour for example.

The paths of the alternate farms, i.e., those disposed diagonally withrespect to each other, do not intersect with each other. This providesan ideal arrangement for two partners to compete against two otherpartners. The path of the partners will intersect the path of their twoopponents but will not intersect with each other. Also, the positions ofthe partners are correct since it is desirable that one partner followsthe play of one of his opponents.

The present invention has provided a game in which all the movablepieces are on the board during plays with the exception of the die, ifone is used. This assures that the game can be played in a limited areawithout keeping track of misplaced pieces off the board. I

It has thus been seen that the present invention has provided aninteresting game for both children and grown-ups. In addition, it hasprovided a game of educational value where children playing the gamebecome familiar with various activities relating to farm life.

What is claimed is:

1. A competitive farm game comprising a playing board having a centrallydisposed area representing a market area, said market area being markedinto a plurality of smaller areas for holding movable piecesrepresenting farm animals and products, a plurality of movable piecesshaped or marked to represent farm animals and products, said productsbeing products provided by said farm animals, a piece representing atruck havin a capacity to receive a plurality of said movable pieces, ap uralrty of areas representing farm areas spaced from each other anddisposed around said market area is spaced relationship, there being onefarm area for each truck representing piece, said farm areas beingmarked into a plurality of smaller areas for holding said movablepieces, a plurality of individual truck paths subdivided into blocks andleading respectively from said farm areas to said market area, each oneof said paths intersecting at least two other paths as it proceeds fromits respective farm area to said market area, with at least two of saidpaths being free of intersections with respect to each other.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1, wherein there are at leastfour paths, the paths of each pair of alternate paths being free ofintersections with each other while intersecting at least two of theremaining paths.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 2, wherein all of said paths arecurved to extend from said farm areas past said market area and theninto said market area.

4. The invention as set forth in claim 3, wherein said market area isrectangular in shape having two relatively long top and bottom portions,and two relatively short side sections, said plurality of paths from allof said farm areas proceeding past at least one of said side portionsand terminating at either said top or bottom portion.

5. The invention as set forth in claim 4, wherein four paths areprovided leading from four farm areas, with a first two of said pathsterminating at said top portion of said market area and the remainingtwo paths terminating at the bottom portion of said market area.

6. The invention as set forth in claim 5, wherein said board isrectangular in shape with said farm areas being disposed at the cornersthereof.

7. The invention as set forth in claim 6, wherein said smaller marketareas and farm areas are marked with indicia to designate areas forholding different types of said movable pieces.

8. The invention as set forth in claim 7, wherein indicia are includedin some of said blocks to provide directions for the movement of aplurality of said movable pieces.

1. A competitive farm game comprising a playing board having a centrallydisposed area representing a market area, said market area being markedinto a plurality of smaller areas for holding movable piecesrepresenting farm animals and products, a plurality of movable piecesshaped or marked to represent farm animals and products, said productsbeing products provided by said farm animals, a piece representing atruck having a capacity to receive a plurality of said movable pieces, aplurality of areas representing farm areas spaced from each other anddisposed around said market area is spaced relationship, there being onefarm area for each truck representing piece, said farm areas beingmarked into a plurality of smaller areas for holding said movablepieces, a plurality of individual truck paths subdivided into blocks andleading respectively from said farm areas to said market area, each oneof said paths intersecting at least two other paths as it proceeds fromits respective farm area to said market area, with at least two of saidpaths being free of intersections with respect to each other.
 2. Theinvention as set forth in claim 1, wherein there are at least fourpaths, the paths of each pair of alternate paths being free ofintersections with each other while intersecting at least two of theremaining paths.
 3. The invention as set forth in claim 2, wherein allof said paths are curved to extend from said farm areas past said marketarea and then into said market area.
 4. The invention as set forth inclaim 3, wherein said market area is rectangular in shape having tworelatively long top and bottom portions, and two relatively short sidesections, said plurality of paths from all of said farm areas proceedingpast at least one of said side portions and terminating at either saidtop or bottom portion.
 5. The invention as set forth in claim 4, whereinfour paths are provided leading from four farm areas, with a first twoof said paths terminating at said top portion of said market area andthe remaining two paths terminating at the bottom portion of said marketarea.
 6. The invention as set forth in claim 5, wherein said board isrectangular in shape with said farm areas being disposed at the cornersthereof.
 7. The invention as set forth in claim 6, wherein said smallermarket areas and farm areas are marked with indicia to designate areasfor holding different types of said movable pieces.
 8. The invention asset forth in claim 7, wherein indicia are included in some of saidblocks to provide directIons for the movement of a plurality of saidmovable pieces.